Themes of race and racism have been present from the beginning of Ragtime. The opening
paragraph of the novel contains a set of contradictory sentences, the first stating “There were
no Negroes. There were no immigrants.” (Doctorow 11) and then towards the end of the
paragraph the narrator realizes “Apparently there were Negroes. There were immigrants.”
(Doctorow 12). As the story largely follows relatively to extremely wealthy white characters,
these quotes exemplify the mindsets socio-economically privileged white people have
regarding minorities and people of color’s place and role in their lives. It’d be convenient for
black people and immigrants to just not be in the picture, but that’s not the reality and their
presence becomes an issue. How they (white people) deal with that reality has showcased
throughout the novel so far.
Of the characters, Father is definitely the most overt with his racial prejudices and clearly
racist statements. A major example of this is in Chapter 10 when the narrator writes about
Father’s expedition to the North Pole. At a certain point, Peary tells Father that Eskimos are
children
and should be treated as such and the narrator points out that “Father tended to agree with
this view, for it suggested a consensus.” (Doctorow 66). It’s interesting that Doctorow
includes that what mattered to Father was a consensus, rather than just saying he agrees with
Peary’s comments. It wouldn’t be completely out of character if he described Fathers feelings
in that manner, so it seems like Doctorow is inserting a perspective regarding the communal
and contagious nature of racism.
Matthew Henson, a black explorer, accompanied Peary on the expedition. He is incredibly
skilled as an explorer and Father even acknowledges how good he is. When Peary was trying
to decide who would actually go to the Pole with him, Henson thought that someone besides
the Eskimos should accompany Peary, and that person should be him. Father admits that
Henson’s reasoning was sound but “found himself unaccountably resenting Henson’s
presumption” (Doctorow 69). Despite all of Henson’s experience, skill, and credibility, Father
couldn’t accept Henson’s idea solely based on the fact that he’s black. In the novel, father is
described as a “decent man,” but the widespread influence of racism in America completely
normalizes his racist and prejudiced thoughts. There are many more situations in the book that
deal with similar issues, but this chapter stuck out to me.
Great post, I definitely agree with your points about Father. Although most of the characters have some racial bias, Father's are the most obvious and explicit. However, it's also clear that, as you mention, he thinks of himself as a "decent man" and his thoughts are so normalized that he doesn't even realize they are racist.
ReplyDeleteIssues about race I think are very interestingly touched on in Ragtime, I think especially after Sarah, the baby, and Coalhouse Walker come in to the picture. The example that you gave about the Eskimos notable, and it sort of mirrors the same experience that Mother has when she first looks at Coalhouse Walker, how she sees him as a decent and posh man but can't help but be slightly taken aback because (although it does not directly say) of his skin color. Though, as you said, Mother and Father are respectable people it reflects I think the white middle class attitudes towards race.
ReplyDeleteDoctorow has a lot of chapters like this - that are almost their own huge stories by themselves, but which are only briefly touched on for a chapter - another example being Ford and Morgan's little episode. This episode in particular, I think, sets up for two things in Father's arc: His interactions with Coalhouse and his death. By having him interact with Henson, Doctorow establishes that Father (like most Americans) was completely incapable of deferring to black talent or skill. This could be Doctorow's way of showing that Father's dismissal of Coalhouse actually reveals Coalhouse's talent. But it also shows how Father's mindset was out-of-date and useless, as revealed by his death at the end of the book.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts on Father - I think the normalization of his beliefs is most apparent in the scene which was quoted in our panel presentation, where he asks Coalhouse to play "coon music" as thats simply what he thinks its called.
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